I haven`t seen much international press (English speaking) so I thought it was important to post this final declaration here. Once we get it in English we`ll post it here.
III Cumbre Continental de Pueblos y Nacionalidades Indígenas del Abya Yala “De la resistencia al poder”
Declaración de Iximche’
Nosotros y nosotras, hijos e hijas de los pueblos y nacionalidades indígenas originarias del continente, autoconvocados y reunidos en la III Cumbre Continental de Pueblos y Nacionalidades Indígenas del Abya Yala realizado en Iximche’, Guatemala, los días oxlajuj Aq’abal, trece fuerzas del espíritu del amanecer, 26 al kají kej, cuatro fuerzas del espíritu del Venado, 30 de marzo del 2007:
Reafirmamos la Declaración de Teotihuacan (México, 2000) y la Declaración de Kito (Ecuador, 2004); ratificamos nuestros principios milenarios, complementariedad, reciprocidad y dualidad, y nuestra lucha por el derecho al territorio, la Madre Naturaleza, la autonomía y libre determinación de los pueblos indígenas; y anunciamos el resurgimiento continental del Pachacutik (retorno), al cierre del Oxlajuj Baq’tun, cuenta larga de 5,200 años, acercándonos a las puertas del nuevo Baq’tun encaminándonos para hacer del Abya Yala una “tierra llena de vida”.
Vivimos siglos de colonización, y hoy la imposición de políticas neoliberales, llamadas de globalización, que continúan llevando al despojo y saqueo de nuestros territorios, apoderándose de todos los espacios y medios de vida de los pueblos indígenas, causando la degradación de la Madre Naturaleza, la pobreza y migración, por la sistemática intervención en la soberanía de los pueblos por empresas transnacionales en complicidad con los gobiernos.
Nos prepararnos para recibir y afrontar los desafíos que nos demanda los nuevos tiempos, por tanto declaramos:
Afianzar el proceso de alianzas entre los pueblos indígenas, de pueblos indígenas y los movimientos sociales del continente y del mundo que permitan enfrentar las políticas neoliberales y todas las formas de opresión.
Responsabilizar a los gobiernos por el permanente despojo de los territorios y la extinción de los pueblos indígenas del continente, a partir de prácticas impunes de genocidio de las transnacionales, así como por la poca voluntad de las Naciones Unidas en viabilizar la Declaración de los Derechos de los Pueblos Indígenas y por no garantizar el respeto pleno de la Declaración Universal de los Derechos Humanos.
Ratificar nuestro derecho ancestral e histórico al territorio y a los bienes comunes de la Madre Naturaleza, y reafirmamos su carácter inalienable, imprescriptible, inembargable e irrenunciable, aún a costa de nuestras vidas.
Consolidar los procesos impulsados para fortalecer la refundación de los Estados – nación y la construcción de los Estados plurinacionales y sociedades interculturales a través de las Asambleas Constituyentes con representación directa de los pueblos y nacionalidades indígenas.
Avanzar en el ejercicio del derecho a la autonomía y libre determinación de los pueblos indígenas, aún sin el reconocimiento legal de los Estados – nación.
Ratificar el rechazo a los tratados de libre comercio (TLCs) que vulneran la soberanía de los pueblos y mantener la vigilancia ante los intentos por implementar nuevos tratados comerciales.
Reafirmar nuestra decisión de defender la soberanía alimentaría y la lucha contra los transgenicos, convocando a todos los pueblos del mundo a sumarse a esta causa para garantizar nuestro futuro.
Ratificar la lucha por la democratización de la comunicación y la implementación de políticas públicas que contemplen disposiciones especificas para los pueblos indígenas e impulso de la interculturalidad.
Alertar a los pueblos indígenas sobre las políticas del BID, Banco Mundial y entidades afines para penetrar en las comunidades con acciones asistencialistas y de cooptación que apuntan a la desarticulación de las organizaciones autónomas y legitimas.
Para el vivir bien de los pueblos indígenas, acordamos:
Exigir a las instituciones financieras internacionales y los gobiernos la cancelación de sus políticas de promoción de las concesiones (mineras, petroleras, forestales, gasiferas y de agua) de territorio indígenas para las industrias extractivas.
Condenar las políticas del presidente Bush y del gobierno de Estados Unidos expresadas en la exclusión demostrada con la construcción del muro en la frontera con México mientras por otro lado trata de apropiarse de los bienes comunes de la Madre Naturaleza de todos los pueblos del Abya Yala, implementando planes y acciones expansionistas y guerreristas.
Condenar la actitud intolerante de los gobiernos de los Estados – nación que no reconocen los derechos de los pueblos indígenas, en particular a los que no han ratificado ni garantizan la aplicación del Convenio 169 de la OIT.
Condenar las democracias impostoras y terroristas implementadas por los gobiernos neoliberales, que se traducen en la militarización de los territorios indígenas, la criminalización de las luchas indígenas y movimientos sociales en todo el Abya Yala.
Para hacer caminar la palabra y realizar los sueños, de la resistencia al poder:
Nos constituimos en la Coordinadora Continental de las Nacionalidades y Pueblos Indígenas del Abya Yala, como espacio permanente de enlace e intercambio, donde converjan experiencias y propuestas, para que juntos enfrentemos las políticas de globalización neoliberal y luchar por la liberación definitiva de nuestros pueblos hermanos, de la madre tierra, del territorio, del agua y todo el patrimonio natural para vivir bien.
En este proceso delineamos las siguientes acciones:
Fortalecer el proceso organizativo y de lucha de los pueblos indígenas con la participación de las mujeres, niños y jóvenes.
Convocar a la Cumbre Continental de Mujeres Indígenas del Abya Yala y a la Cumbre Continental de la Niñez, Adolescencia y Juventud de las Nacionalidades del Abya Yala.
Convocar a la marcha continental de los pueblos indígenas para salvar a la Madre Naturaleza de los desastres que está provocando el capitalismo, y que se manifiesta en el calentamiento global, a realizarse el 12 de octubre del 2007.
Impulsar la misión diplomática de los pueblos indígenas para defender y garantizar los derechos de los pueblos indígenas.
Respaldar la candidatura a Premio Nobel de la Paz de nuestro hermano Evo Morales Ayma, Presidente de Bolivia.
Exigir la despenalización de la hoja de coca.
“Soñamos nuestro pasado y recordamos nuestro futuro”
This salsa evening Saturday 5th May at 8pm in Theatr Clwyd organised by the Clwyd Latin America Human Rights Group is to raise funds for the Movimiento Nacional por los Derechos Humanos (MNDH) in Guatemala. In February the MNDH suffered a number of intimidations reported by Amnesty International, including a break in at their offices (picture below).
If you`re interested in finding out more information about this fundraiser event, you can phone 01352 740 642 or 01244 531 702.
The UK Goverment has just launched a new strategy paper for Latin America. The paper was set out by Lord Triesman on 28th March in Canning House, London. It contains the rather embarassing insinuations that there`s a chance Latin America can be saved from ill by becoming a partner of the UK...
"I believe there are four realistic scenarios for Latin America in 2020:
First, a secure, prosperous continent working in partnership with the UK on global issues;
Second, a continent where democratic progress stalls, replaced by a new form of caudillo;
Third, a continent unable to compete with either Asia in the manufacturing sector or Europe and the US on services, leaving it dependent on its raw materials;
Fourth, a continent with a dividing line between prosperous and economically under performing states - with all the political instability that entails."
Not sure if Lord Triesman has any idea how pompous that kind of statement sounds. Here`s the deal: Latin America let`s us exploit it natural resources and in return gets a pat on the head. Triesman`s words come at the same time tension has again surfaced with the Argentina- as the UK has been sniffing around the Falkland Islands for oil. Hey Triesman- let`s not try to kid the UK public that we`re interested in real partnership.
And the UK Government`s not even that bothered about the rights of islanders- the case of the Chagos Islands clarified that little misrepresentation of the Falklands war. Hey- and let`s not even mention Belize! Nuff said. Triesman please put a diplomatic sock in it.
This is my next-to-last report from Guatemala about accompanying witnesses in the national genocide case.
Since my last bi-monthly dispatch, activists with whom we work have been threatened, followed home, received alarming anonymous phone calls, had their offices raided and one organizer was even briefly kidnapped. Perhaps because the Ixil - the region where I live - has become the main focus of the genocide case, we have also had our share of local intimidations in the last weeks (see further down).
A GLIMPSE OF GENOCIDE: PLAYING SOCCER, BUT NOT WITH MY PEERS
Recently, friends in Ilom - the resplendent highlands village believed by the Ixil Maya to be the birthplace of their people – invited me to join their soccer team Sociedad Juvenil (Juvenile Society) in a regional tournament about an hour and a half hike away. (I’ve played off-and-on with them for the last 8 months).
While I certainly prefer our squad’s name to that of Ilom’s other team, Los Chiqueros (The Pig Sty Boys), I have always been intrigued by their choice; we range broadly in ages – mostly either teens or late twenties and up - and I often joke with my friend Mu’s that since he’s already a grandfather and pushing 40, perhaps they should contemplate renaming the crew.
As our tiresome, uphill trek to the soccer match snaked past the Santa Delfina plantation, my pal Chato broke the silence by shyly pointing out that he was born there. Chato will soon share something in common with me that is truly rare among Ilom residents, a community of some 450 families: he will be 25 years old.
Last Friday not only marked the 25th anniversary of the military coup that put Efraìn Rìos Montt - the deadliest dictator in Latin America’s modern times – into power. It also marked a short quarter-century since the Guatemalan army rounded up 96 of Ilom`s men into the plaza and gorily ended their lives. The army then set fire to the entire village (as they would do to at least another 625 Mayan villages before their genocidal campaign ended), forcing survivors to flee to nearby Santa Delfina.
In an interview (see link below), Antonio Caba - president of the Association for Justice and Reconciliation, the coalition of witnesses that we accompany – related that refugees from Ilom were virtually enslaved on the Santa Delfina plantation following the massacre of March 23, 1982, and, given the extreme circumstances, children that had fled from Ilom died there on the plantation, every day for months and months.
Chato, our midfielder for Sociedad Juvenil, was one of the lucky ones.
A LITTLE BOMB NAMED SOFÌA
Sunday before last, a shocking three-page cover story in Guatemala’s leading daily newspaper directly linked Ríos Montt to massacres perpetrated in the Ixil region during 1982 and 1983! The article reports that in August the Attorney General acquired a copy of secret military documents outlining Plan Sofìa - an extensive army campaign ordered by then president and commander-in-chief Rios Montt against "subversives" in the area - but he has still refused to formally initiate the genocide case proceedings.
In February, I had the opportunity to switch spots with another accompanier and visit 5 villages in a different area of the Ixil. Apparently while I was visiting witnesses in those communities, Guatemala’s Minister of Defense was claiming to the presiding judge in the genocide case that Plan Sofia does not exist. However, the exposé article from March 18 asserts that not only does Plan Sofìa exist, two of the communities I had been accompanying were likely massacred as a result of Plan Sofia in the summer of 1982.
RÌOS MONTT’S ESCAPE ROUTE: CONGRESS
The next five weeks will determine if Ríos Montt - who ruled over the estimated murder of 70,000 predominantly Mayan people - will evade justice for at least another four years (or feasibly forever, given that he is 81 years old).
If Ríos Montt is able to register as a candidate on May 3 for this year’s congressional elections, his possible win will provide him parliamentary immunity from prosecution. However, if the Attorney General takes an initial declaration from Ríos Montt regarding the accusations cited against him in the genocide case, it would disqualify his candidacy.
If only half of you reading this e-mail were to devote the 10 seconds required to click a box to send him an e-mail, the Attorney General would have to wade through some 150 e-mails from foreigners upset with his stalling on the genocide case.
LOCAL INTIMIDATIONS IN THE IXIL
Last month, my accompaniment partner received a phone call from an unknown person who creepily asked her how she was doing, and, when asked to identify himself, only told her that he was "a man." She hung up. The Caller ID indicated that another fellow accompanier had called her but we knew that he was in a village where there is no service. He later confirmed that, of course, he had not called her, signifying that someone seems to be showing us that they are watching us and able to infiltrate the phone system.
Twice since December, unidentified men have approached my accompaniment partner and me and, without a word, taken our picture on a digital camera, then quickly walked off. And just a few weeks ago, as fellow accompaniers and I met up in a public park (as arranged by phone), a woman maybe 50 meters away stood quietly filming us for minutes on end until we confronted her.
This is by no means all of the suspicious behavior or incidents we’ve been encountering recently, just a sampling to provide some idea.
PRESIDENT BUSH IN GUATEMALA: HE KILLS ?
Lastly, President Bush came to Guatemala a few weeks ago. While he managed to devote a large chunk of time pitching neo-liberal reforms to Guatemalan officials, and other measures that would benefit the U.S. economy, it appears he never once mentioned the recent, unpunished state-led military campaign which claimed upwards of 200,000 lives.
(Makes one wonder what consequences might have sprung from Bush having expressed even one sentence’s worth of concern over the absence of prosecution for the bloodiest genocide in our hemisphere’s recent history.)
After the Guatemalan government strong-armed Bush’s way into Iximchè - a sacred site to indigenous Kaqchikel people - to entertain him for the day (despite the massive protests of local community members kept behind the Secret Service and police blockades), Mayan priests returned en masse, performing rituals to cleanse the area of the evil spirits they say Bush brought in.
Many expressed pain and anger over Bush - a man whose war in Iraq has resulted in a staggering number of innocent deaths (the British government recently conceded that a study pegging the death toll around 655,000 is credible) - desecrating such a special, holy place to them, and their powerlessness, in the face of state repression, to prevent it.
It might be worth observing that the word for "bush" in Spanish is "mata," which curiously also translates as "he kills" or functions as the command form of the order "to kill."
HOMEWARD BOUND
In 7 weeks I will be back home in Austin. Many thanks again for all the support you all have provided me during my time here – from e-mails to music to homemade cookies to literature to money to art and so on. You have enabled me to feel a sustained sense of loving community despite living tucked away in the western highlands of Guatemala, and I really appreciate that.
Again, if you haven’t already, please send an e-mail to the Attorney General calling on him to let the survivors testify, thereby also preventing Ríos Montt from retaking Congress.
With love and solidarity,
Jordan
New articles detailing the battle against impunity for genocide in Guatemala:
LA ASOCIACIÓN GUATEMALTECA DE ALCALDES Y AUTORIDADES INDÍGENAS AGAAI AJK’MALB’E RECH UTZILAL TINAMIT
HACE SABER:
A LA OPINION PÚBLICA NACIONAL E INTERNACIONAL
./ Que el día martes 20 de marzo del año en curso, nuestra oficina ubicada en el edificio El Centro, 7ma. Avenida 8-56 de la zona uno de la ciudad de Guatemala, fue violentada por desconocidos posteriormente fue allanada, habiéndose llevado únicamente documentación y una caja chica.
../ Este hecho fue puesto en conocimiento de la Policía nacional Civil como lo establece la legislación respectiva, pero hasta el momento aún el Ministerio Público no ha hecho las averiguaciones correspondientes.
…/Consideramos que este hecho de violencia responde por sus características a un claro acto intimidatorio a los trabajadores y a los miembros de nuestra Asociación. Por esta razón el caso ha sido también denunciado a la Oficina del Procurador de Derechos Humanos.
…./Lamentamos y condenamos este hecho de violencia que impera en las organizaciones indignas que únicamente busca generar un escenario de intimidación a nuestra organización. -/Relacionamos estos hechos intimidatorios a la labor que nuestra Asociación está realizando en apoyo y acompañamiento a los Alcaldes y Autoridades indígenas que luchan para la protección de la madre tierra.
POR LO TANTO LA AGAAI DECLARA Y DEMANDA:
./ La garantía y el respeto a nuestra asociación indígena a nivel local y nacional ya que somos una Asociación que busca el fortalecimiento de los Alcaldes y autoridades indígenas y luchamos por nuestros derechos colectivos e indígenas. ../Que el Gobierno de turno, inicie la investigación respectiva de los responsables de este hecho de violencia, que solo genera un escenario de terror e intimidaciones.
…/Solicitamos a las organizaciones e instituciones de derechos humanos nacionales e internacionales y la cooperación internacional la solidaridad y el acompañamiento respectivo, a los miembros de la Junta Directiva y personal de nuestra Asociación AGAAI. …./Asimismo hacemos un llamado a las comunidades a que en cumplimiento de sus derechos y normas nacionales internacionales continuemos organizados y seguir luchando por la reivindicación de nuestros derechos como pueblos y en defensa de la madre tierra.
-/Solicitamos a todos los participantes a la tercera Cumbre Continental de Pueblos y Nacionalidades Indígenas de Abya Yala, su apoyo a los Alcaldes y a las autoridades Indígenas de Guatemala y la denuncia de este hecho de intimidación.
La AGAAI, manifiesta que estas acciones de intimidación no disminuirán los esfuerzos y formas de organización como pueblos indígenas,
Secret military document, in possession of the Attorney General, directly links Rìos Montt in Quichè massacres
Not one district attorney has had access, until now, to a classified Guatemalan Army document which tells of military operations executed during the internal armed conflict, against subversive cells or elements.
Delia Dàvila, head of the prosecutor’s department of human rights, within the Attorney General’s office, has been the first to receive a copy of one of those plans, protected by State secrecy and which was partially obtained in a clandestine manner by plaintiffs in the genocide case pursued within Guatemala.
Despite having in her possession documents which record the existence of the Sofìa Pan of operations, that, together with declarations of the witnesses, directly link the Army high command and their commander-in-chief, Efraìn Rìos Montt, with massacres committed predominantly within the Western region of the country, from 1982 to 1983, Dàvila has roundly refused to make an appointment with the former head of State and his leadership, to interrogate them.
The reason is, according to what the prosecutor (Dàvila) told the presiding judge in the case, Roberto Peñate, that she is not certain that those documents are authentic. To verify her doubts, the judge ordered that on January 31 the Minster of Defense, before an open court, present the original documents of Plan Sofia and Victory 82, due to their relation to each other, since the former derived from the latter.
In response, Ronaldo Cecilio Leiva, Minister of Defense, mailed a letter to the judge on February 8 in which he protests his disagreement with the judicial resolution, because “it violates article 30 of the constitution, which protects the confidentiality of military affairs.”
In the missive, Leiva affirms that Plan Victory 82 is a military affair of national security, classified as secret and that Plan Sofìa does not exist.
To avoid that the documents become public, he presented an appeal and claimed that these records, along with others that contain Operation Ixil Civil Affairs and Firmeza 83 plans, are off-limits.
The appeal was rejected by the judge who reminded the Minister of Defense that the accusation is not against him and summoned him for next March 26, so that he may show before the court the entirety of the plans and the original documents, to which Prensa Libre had partial access. Coincidentally, the meeting will be held 3 days after the 25th anniversary of the coup d’etat, in 1982, which brought Rìos Montt to power.
Excuse the shakey images above- coming in to land in Guatemala in an airport being remodeled, flying over Amatitlan then Villa Nueva and on to the centre of town. It`s great to back in Guatemala after a good while- and relieved the 10+ hour flight with my young daughters is over...
I`ll be posting from Guatemala over the next few weeks.
We just received the following press release about the new English translation of Oswaldo Salazar's book "Por el lado Oscuro". Salazar was recently in London to take part in launches of the book that included an event in Canning House and then the Instituto Cervantes. Having read the book - it is certainly a compelling read. And pre-revolutionary Guatemala is certainly an interesting time to look at.
Guatemala has a new master of narrative in the form of Oswaldo Salazar, whose compelling first novel From the Darkness is one of the few works of Central American literature to explore the region's criminal history.
In From the Darkness - the English translation of the prize-winning Por el lado oscuro - Salazar explores the bitterly unhappy circumstances that can make a woman kill, and the unforgiving quality of male justice.
From the Darkness is a captivating story of a murder and the ensuing investigation that became known as "The Gourd Poisoning" in a traditional society unprepared for a crime that lay outside its powers of reasoning. It begins in the spring of 1939 when a man dies in agony at the San Juan de Dios de Amatitlán Hospital outside Guatemala City. His wife and children are accused of poisoning him, shattering the calm of a land kept in fearful order by the cold and tempestuous dictator General Jorge Ubico (1931-44).
Salazar's work touches a raw Latin nerve, giving the reader a unique insight into lost Central American worlds: that of the Guatemalan peasant woman - ignored, abused and constantly judged by her unforgiving male superiors; that of the small, rural Latin American town, where a handful of strongmen oversee all life; and that of the era of military caudillos, dictators whose quest for order and progress shapes all official culture.
The winner of the prestigious 2003 Mario Monteforte Toledo Prize, Por el lado oscuro was translated by Gavin O'Toole and will be published by Aflame Books in March 2007.
The Mexican writer Carlos Montemayor said of this book: "Por el lado oscuro has a magnificent narrative quality, exposition and style as well as a forceful central character, delivering the unexpected features of a species of crime novel within a work of historical reconstruction."
Oswaldo Salazar was born in Guatemala City in 1959 and has had a distinguished academic career. He took his first degree in philosophy and literature at Rafael Landívar University in Guatemala then studied as a Fulbright Scholar at Boston College in the United States. He currently teaches at Guatemala's Francisco Marroquín University.
Aflame Books is a small, independent UK publisher committed to publishing in English translation works from Latin America, Africa and the Middle East.
Democracy Now! interviewed veteran anti-sweatshop activist Charles Kernaghan of the National Labor Committee about the report they've recently produced on the conditions at the Legumex factory. It is titled "Harvest of Shame."
"There is a darker side about U.S.-Guatemalan trade relations: less than 10 miles from where Bush spoke there is a food processing plant where children as young as 13 years old are working under deplorable conditions.
According to the New York-based National Labor Committee, the children, working at a factory owned by Legumex, harvest and process vegetables and fruits exported to the United States."
According to the NLC though Legumex may have turned the corner. You can see various video testimony of child labour by the NLC on a recent trip to Guatemala.
Democracy Now! also interviewed a Guatemalan migrant worker and featured another report looking at the abuses under the Guestworker programme. Mary Bauer explained the report to Democracy Now!'s Juan Gonzalez. Mary is director of the Southern Poverty Law Center's Immigrant Justice Project. She is author of the new report "Close to Slavery: Guestworker Programs in the United States."
"Our report was based on literally thousands of interviews with workers over the course of years, based on the work done by the Southern Poverty Law Center. And what we found is that the guestworker program leads to the abuse and exploitation of workers, not because there are a few bad-apple employers, but because the structure of the system itself leads to abuse. The fact that workers pay enormous sums of money and come to the United States with crushing debt and the fact that they are then tied to one employer -- they can legally work only for the employer who filed the petition for them -- the structure of that system leads to those workers being systematically exploited on the job."
World Politics Watch have just published a two-part series on Gang Culture and Violence in Guatemala: Part One and Part Two. It makes for pretty chilling reading.
The series was written by Billy Briggs, the 2005 recipient of Amnesty International's Nations and Regions Award for his reporting on human rights issues. His report is accompanied by photos by Angela Catlin.
Billy says on website about Guatemala:
"I recently visited Guatemala with photographer Angela Catlin to document the escalating violence and human rights abuses in one of the most violent nations in the world. There are more killings per day than there were during the dark days of a civil war that ended in 1996. The killing of women, the execution of selected individuals by elements within the police and military, gang and crime-related killings, 'social cleansing' by vigilante groups, and other acts of random violence have created a widespread sense of insecurity. Guatemala is a nation living in fear."
You can see his other articles on Guatemala on his website where he's written for The Sunday Herald, The Guardian and The Big Issue.
Maya huipil from San Lucas Toliman, a town near Lake Atitlan Guatemala Photo: Karen Elwell
Over the last few months I've really enjoyed the regular additions to Karen Elwell's Flickr set covering textiles vast region covering Mexico and Guatemala. It's a veritable gateway in a world of creation and culture in Mexico and Guatemala. You can view her photos of textiles from Guatemala here.
Karen has been studying textiles from Guatemala and Mexico for the last 20 years, and has been working with Bob Freund for the last two years contributed to his massive site- the Mexican Indigenous Textiles Project- on textiles from the same region.
Karen and Bob's great work made me think of the work here in the UK undertaken by the Guatemalan Maya Centre in London founded by Krystyna Deuss and curated by Jamie Marshall.
We've just received news of the upcoming events at the Guatemalan Maya Centre here in London (thanks Jamie!):
SPRING & SUMMER EVENTS 2007
ONGOING EXHIBITION: CHICHICASTENAGO: LIFE & DRESS: A selection of daily and ceremonial textiles from the Quiché Maya town of Chichicastenango (until end of April*) Guatemala. The display includes both antique and contemporary textiles
Thursday 22nd March 19:00 – 20:00 FILM: CODE OF THE MAYA KINGS: A National Geographic funded video documentary examining how it took more than a century to unlock the secrets of the ancient Maya. Includes material on the life and work of reknowned Mayanist Tatiana Proskouriakoff. (Produced & directed by Graham Townsley & Ann Carroll).
Saturday 19th May 10:00 – 18:00 NEW EXHIBITION: TODOS SANTOS & THE TIERRA FRIA: CHANGING TRADITIONS IN HUEHUETENANGO. An exhibition bringing together a selection of textiles from the Mam, Chuj and Q'anjobal and communities of the northwestern highlands, depicting scenes of daily and ceremonial life.
Thursday 7th June 18:30 – 20:00 LECTURE (& FILM): SHAMANS, WITCHES & MAYA PRIESTS. With the publication of her book of the same title, Krystyna Deuss presents an illustrated lecture on native religion and ritual in highland. Organised as a part of the Native Spirit Festival, this event will be preceded by a short (18 minute) film, Atltzatzilistli/ Praying for Water, by an indigenous Mexican filmmaker. This event will take place at the Instituto Cervantes, 102 Eaton Square, London SW1W.
Tuesday 17th July 19:00 – 20:00 TEXTILE STUDY EVENING: GUATEMALAN MAYA COSTUME. An informal look at the current textile exhibition: Todos Santos & The Tierra Fria, and hands on discussion of a selection of Maya textiles with Jamie Marshall, Curator of the Centre's textile collection.
OPEN: Tuesday & Thursday 14:00 - 18:00; Saturday 10:00 - 18:00 *CLOSED: In January, August and either side of Easter (April 3rd–24th inclusive) Nearest Underground: Fulham Broadway (District Line)
Entrance to the exhibition galleries and craft shop is FREE. Use of reference library, videos & textiles: £5 annual membership
Unless otherwise stated all events are at the Guatemalan Maya Centre
A suggested £1 donation towards the cost of purchasing new videos is requested at video showings; admission to Centre talks / lectures: £2
For more information visit our website: http://www.maya.org.uk. Please contact us in September for an Autumn & Winter Events Sheet at 94 Wandsworth Bridge Road, London SW6 2TF Tel/Fax: 020 7371 5291
This photo is thanks to Cristen. The women involved were from the various schools in the town of Livingston, Guatemala. They marched in a parade through town with handmade posters, gathered in the park and listened to various speakers, and participated in performances for the people watching. It was part of many marches organised around Guatemala for International Women's Day on 8th March. Many were specifically part of the campaign against violence against women in Guatemala. The day was celebrated by Central America Women's Network (CAWN) amongst others who recently had a speaker from Guatemala here in the UK.
We've heard that Amnesty International is planning a series of events as part of the culmination of the campaign against violence against women in early May (probably 1st-13th). We'll be able to confirm this and give more details about the events themselves which should involve a speaker from Guatemala soon.
To begin this post here's George Bush getting some practice in at being contrite- this could have served him well before his Latin American trip. The Mayan cleansing to be carried out in Iximche has ran and ran, as have the crosses held aloft by students in Guatemala City. Bush as sinner or 'el Diablo', has captured the public's imagination.
On the day that George Bush will touch down in Guatemala- the agenda for that one hour meeting and dinner with Oscar Berger is doubtless rather full- though no surprises if it turns out to be empty on contrition. Foreign Minister, Gert Rosenthal, hinted they might be discussing ethanol production- but if this interview in Siglo XXI is anything to go by- sounds like policy on the fly:
¿Cuáles son las expectativas del Gobierno? Es tener una buena visita bilateral y pasar revista a todos los temas. Ellos traen una iniciativa que nos interesa, que es diversificar el mercado energético para elevar la participación de los biocombustibles, llámese etanol. El país tiene posibilidad de ser un importante proveedor, con base en la caña de azúcar. Es una iniciativa conjunta entre Estados Unidos y Brasil.
¿Ellos qué ofrecen? Brasil tiene tecnología, y Estados Unidos está dispuesto a comprarnos etanol.
¿Cuánta capacidad de producción tendría Guatemala? No tengo idea.
Here's a better idea from the Network in Solidarity with the People of Guatemala (Nisgua) just in case both are prepared to bear their soul a little: they could make a joint declaration to advance the legal cases against General Efrain Rios Montt and members of his military high command. They can't say there's a shortage of information on this one.
"President Bush's tour of Latin America is intended to reestablish U.S. influence in the region, but serious conflicts remain between the image the Bush Administration is trying to portray this week and its actual policies over the past six years. In Guatemala, the Administration has been supporting the physical harassment and suspension of civil rights in rural communities under the guise of the Drug War, pushing for Congress to increase training and funding of the deeply corrupt security forces, and limiting economic opportunities and access to affordable medicines through the DR-Central American Free Trade Agreement (DR-CAFTA).
While international arrest warrants for Rios Montt and his military high command have been in effect in the U.S. since last year, the Bush Administration has yet to publicly acknowledge the warrants or show support for legal initiatives in Guatemala. Given the strategic importance of Guatemala's relationship with the U.S., any message from President Bush supporting anti-impunity efforts and the prosecution of Rios Montt would have a strong impact on the ground in Guatemala."
But hey, the onus doesn't rest solely with Berger to make a move here. What are the odds of a contrite Bush making a Clinton-style apology for US involvement in these crimes? It's worth reminding ourselves today of what Clinton said in 1999:
"It is important that I state clearly that support for military forces or intelligence units which engaged in violent and widespread repression of the kind described in the report was wrong," Clinton said, reading carefully from handwritten notes. "And the United States must not repeat that mistake. We must, and we will, instead continue to support the peace and reconciliation process in Guatemala."
This report from Robert Parry at the time- tracks the journey that led up to that moment the last time a sitting US President visited Guatemala. The Clinton administration had declassified scores of the secret U.S. documents in the late 1990s- the Peace Accords had not long been signed and the Historical Clarification Commission had just reported. It feels a world away now.
Background
Apologizing of course is not with out controversy, William Blum pointed out that: "the word "sorry" did not cross the president's [Clinton's] lips, nor did the word "apologize", nor the word "compensation". For other views on the significance of this moment see:
Then there's this on Bush's track record on apologizing from Robert Parry's report on that V-E Day speech on May 7 2005:
"Bush's troubling message was that the only real U.S. mistake in the Cold War was not to aggressively challenge the Soviet Union right after the defeat of Germany, even if that meant vastly more bloodshed. Bush also expressed no regret for some of the most egregious U.S. actions in the Cold War, such as complicity in genocide in Guatemala, state terrorism in Chile or the fearsome death toll in the Vietnam War."
Finally, for family precedents, Dubya's dad is quoted as saying the following in 1988 as Vice President:
"I will never apologize for the United States of America. I don't care what the facts are."
First off, let's say that we never set out on this blog with the intention of being politically controversial. This is not a Political blog with a capital 'P'.
Now let's explain the images appearance on this blog. Original political satire they might not be. Contemporary political satire they are, popping up in Guatemala and much of America. The anti-Chavez graphic was on Guatemalan blogger Marta Yolanda Díaz-Durán's blog Principios. While the anti-Bush graphic (via Ulises Rodríguez/EFE/Corbis) was sprayed on a wall (and probably is still being sprayed on others) in Guatemala as part of the protests against the US President's arrival in the country.
Leaving the merits of comparing either Bush or Chavez with Hitler to one side, these crafted images represent polar opposites: both suggesting the road to avoid and not necessarily the road to take. Perhaps it's a measure of just how polarized debate has become that both sides equate their nemesis with the closest thing there is to a universally despised icon.
This growing undercurrent towards polarization in politics across the American continent is becoming less of an undercurrent and more of an out and out wave with each passing week. If Bush's uncomfortable foray into Latin America has demonstrated anything- it's surely got to be this growing polarization. Formulating clear distinct political options is one thing, political polarization where citizens are forced to take sides in the battles of others, is quite another. The "you're either for us or against us" philosophy that snuffs out political debate, has got to be one of the least effective ways of sowing peace and social justice out there.
How you personally describe this polarization is up to you: Bush/Chavez; neoliberal/socialist; dictatorship/democracy; populist/unpopulist; petrol/ethanol. May be daring political programmes always tend to create more polarization... may be Latin American politics are that much more polarized already and this current wave is nothing new. Hey, may be I'm hinting at a centre ground that just doesn't exist, and what do I know anyway? In the UK we complain because there's not enough to distinguish between our political representatives- red or blue are both the same is the all too common refrain. If only we could have a little dose of polarized politics to reinvigorate our staid British political culture, some might say.
The point, though, buried in this post is that Guatemalans are second to no-one in understanding the lethal potential of ultimate unfettered polarization fanned by outside powers. Bush and Chavez given the luxury of power and influence beyond their respective borders, may attempt their own disengagement and shun constructive dialogue with each other,* that's their prerogative. The rights or wrongs of that contest aside, when Guatemala decides its own road later this year, as idealistic as it sounds, let's hope the result is a step closer to greater dialogue and social justice, and away from a more bitter intense political polarization.
Background
*Ok, so Chavez might be forgiven a moderate antipathy towards Bush after Bush supported a coup in Venezuela that landed Chavez in jail in 2002. The point is (granted the reality of the situation may mean otherwise) idealistically, whatever is achieved in isolation could potentially be multiplied many times over by cooperating together, guided by social justice concerns.
It's worth pondering the media coverage of Bush's Latin American trip which has been widely accompanied by the dull, unmistakable playground drum beat of "fight, fight, fight".
This is a great photo of Kajyub' by Nick Logan- he's also taken others of the surrounding area- in particular this one where you can really appreciate the valley of Rabinal. I've roughly translated this information for Oj K'aslik about Kajyub':
The presence of numerous archaeological sites corroborates the fact that the valley of Rabinal and of Chixoy were inhabited long before the Spanish invasion. The sacred places of Kajyub', Chwitinamit, Chiwiloy, Pakaqja, Chwiprocesion, Saqtijel, Toloxkok and Belej K'ache' are just a provisional and incomplete list of principle houses that the land's forefathers left.
In the Chixoy basin, that in the north of Rabinal joined with the municipalities of Cubulco and Uspantán, important places like Rax Ch'iich' in Los Encuentros (pa ya' ch'iich' - 'en el agua del metal') were completely covered by the construction of hydroelectric dam of Pueblo Viejo, while Cawinal near Chicruz was partially covered. An archaeological assessment of this area brings us to the conclusion that there was a long history of prehispanic occupation in the region of Rabinal. In the postclassic period (900-1524 AD) Kajyub' and Chwitinamit, along with Cawinal in the valley of Chixoy were inhabited.
In conclusion, we can say that the region of Rabinal played an important role in the commercial route between Kaminal Juyu' and the lowlands of the Petén during the preclassic period. Equally, the old route from the capital to Cobán went through Rabinal via the royal road (camino real).
Kajyub' is of course better known for being featured in the Rabinal Achí, a dynastic Maya drama from the fifteenth century- represented through masked dance, theatre and music. In 2005, it was declared part of the oral heritage of humanity by UNESCO.
The oral and written narrative is presented by a group of characters, who appear on a stage representing Maya villages, especially Kajyub', the regional capital of the Rabinaleb' in the fourteenth century. The narrative, divided into four acts, deals with a conflict between two major political entities in the region, the Rabinaleb' and the K'iche'.
The main characters are two princes, the Rabinal Achí and the K'iche Achí. The other characters are the king of Rabinaleb', Job'Toj, and his servant, Achij Mun Achij Mun Ixoq Mun, who has both male and female traits, the green-feathered mother, Uchuch Q'uq' Uchuch Raxon, and thirteen eagles and thirteen jaguars who represent the warriors of the fortress of Kajyub'. K'iche' Achí is captured and put on trial for having attempted to steal Rabinaleb' children, a grave violation of Maya law.
References
Oj K'aslik - Estamos Vivos - Recuperacion de la Memoria Historica de Rabinal (1944-1996) - Bert Janssens (Museo Comunitario Rabinal Achi)
Ichon, A., (1996), p.191 y Arnauld, M.C., en Breton,A., (1993)
Oscar Berger's preparation for the imminent arrival of homologue el Señor Presidente Jorge Arbusto has gone about as well as the above photo op (from El Periodico via El Canche). If massive sinkholes had to open up in Guatemala's capital, diplomatic rows had to blow up with usually friendly neighbours, and senior members of his administration had to resign, I'm guessing Berger's preference wouldn't be a few days off when George Bush decides to show up in town.
Talking of Carlos Vielman, before he resigned (along with Police Chief Erwin Sperisen- at least they offered their resignation- we're reading conflicting reports) seems he came over a tad pedantic when he stopped by at Congress:
"Tras dos horas de lectura de la lista de asesores, los diputados comenzaron a desesperarse y a pedir al presidente de la Junta Directiva del Congreso, Rubén Darío Morales, que interrumpiera a Vielmann, a lo que no accedió."
Seems bloggers are joining the welcoming parties (writing welcoming speeches, decorating the streets, etc.) as the Bush cavalcade journeys around Latin America. However, appears there's confusion about who should be thanking who.
'The American taxpayer has been very generous about providing aid in our neighborhood, and most of that aid is social justice money -- in other words, it's money for education and health,' Bush said in an interview with CNN En Espanol. Since he took office, U.S. aid to Latin America has gone from $800 million to $1.6 billion, the president said. 'And yet we don't get much credit for it,' he said. (ABC Money)
"Irónicamente el que el presidente de la nación más rica y poderosa del mundo visite una ciudad del planeta, no es gratis. Las visitas del presidente George W. Bush a Latinoamérica-tardías, en la opinión de muchos críticos-le convienen más a él que a los países que Bush eligió visitar." - Edgar Ayala - Oakland, California, EEUU
It's interesting the timing of the $80 million dollar loan from the Wolfowitz-led World Bank just announced (06-03-07). This at a time when many Latin American countries are rejecting the Washington Consensus.
Argentinian President Nestor Kirchner: "In the Paris Club they tell us: 'You must have an agreement with the International (Monetary) Fund to be able to pay the debt.' We say to them: 'Sirs, we are sovereign. We want to pay the debt but no way in hell are we going to make an agreement again with the IMF."
Guatemala seems to be embracing the Washington consensus ever more closely- hence Bush's decision to stop off at Guatemala now- and Paul Wolfowitz's visit last year. Given the chronic instability in Guatemala's own financial sector it seems ironic that it will shortly be playing host and setting the backdrop to Governors of the Interamerican Development Bank shortly after Bush's departure.
Coming back to recent events starting with the murder of three Salvadoran politicians, the backdrop for Berger's negotiations with Bush is utter lawlessness. An article in the New York Times (05-03-07) set the scene for outsiders looking in on Guatemala speculating on its possible causes:
"A high-ranking United Nations official here, who requested anonymity to protect his diplomatic neutrality, said he believed the Interior Ministry and the National Police created death squads over the last three years, trying to combat the wave of violent crime by gangs like the notorious Mara Salvatrucha, a group started in Los Angeles by the children of Central American civil-war refugees of the 1980s."
This impression has been underlined by the release of the annual pronouncement on human rights around the world by the US State Department. Here's the intro to the 2006 report on Guatemala:
"Although the government generally respected the human rights of its citizens, serious problems remained. The human rights and societal problems included the government's failure to investigate and punish unlawful killings committed by members of the security forces; widespread societal violence, including numerous killings; corruption and substantial inadequacies in the police and judicial sectors... [more]"
All in all, it doesn't bode well for Berger being able to capitalize on his home advantage and press for the Guatemalan agenda with Bush when the two meet later this week.
Postscript
Lingering on the US State Department's report on human rights assessment country by country - begs the question - where's the report on the US? And which country gets to write it. I'm sure there's a stack of candidates who'd like to venture an opinion. In Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's words:
"We do not issue these reports because we think ourselves perfect, but rather because we know ourselves to be deeply imperfect, like all human beings and the endeavors that they make."
Whatever, it seems those in the US administration get to hang out everybody else's dirty washing- but not their own. Be more interesting if the US concentrated more on investigating its own human abuses and left international reporting to an international institution. Interesting reading the US's report on the UK- misses out (the report was published in Jan 2007) the collusion of British police with Unionist terrorists in the murders of more than a dozen people.
Guatemalan Vice President Eduardo Stein doesn't seem to agree with the report on Guatemala- but rather than quibble over the grade given- it'd be better to question the right of the teacher to set the exam in the first place.
Guatemala and El Salvador have so much in common- but at the moment it's hard to believe it. Guatemala-El Salvador relations haven't been this frosty for a long while. A report from Reuters earlier today (02-03-07) noted:
Neighboring El Salvador, itself a country with high rates of crime and violence, is demanding Berger take action over the killing of the lawmakers. "There are authorities in Guatemala who must face justice, we have requested this with total respect to President Berger," El Salvador President Antonio Saca said.
El Salvador's President Tony Saca said "high-level" people in Guatemala had been in involved in the crimes, and called on Guatemala to demonstrate that it was confronting the problem. "Guatemala has to show it is changing, and it has to go as far as necessary," Saca said during an interview in Washington, where he is visiting.
El presidente de El Salvador, Antonio Saca, aseguró ayer que autoridades de alto rango del país se encuentran implicadas en el asesinato de cuatro salvadoreños.
"Saca exigió que se termine la "historia triste de impunidad" que vivió siempre el país y advirtió que para ello sería necesario tomar decisiones difíciles. "Hay autoridades de Guatemala que deben ir ante la justicia y eso es lo que hemos pedido con todo respeto al presidente Berger. Que llegue hasta las últimas consecuencias"."
El Periodico also led on Wednesday with the news about a campaign being waged in El Salvador to boycott Guatemala as a holiday destination during the holy week holiday period.
Update (03-03-07)
Reports have come through of threats to journalists covering the story of the murder of El Salvadoran members of the Central America Parliament. El Diablogico has more in English- covered by Prensa Libre in Guatemala and picked up by the Knight Center for Journalism in the US.
Cerigua has reported on comments made by the representative of the Office of the High Commission of the United Nations for Human Rights in Guatemala (OACNUDH), Anders Kompas:
El representante de la Oficina de la Alta Comisionada de la ONU para los Derechos Humanos expresó que preocupa cómo las autoridades dan mensajes contradictorios sobre la muerte de los agentes, presuntos asesinos de los parlamentarios, "silenciados" según se maneja en diversos medios, lo que afecta su credibilidad y provoca desconfianza.
Este problema de connotación binacional (Guatemala y El Salvador) ha revelado que sólo sería la punta del iceberg del asunto y que el gobierno ha esperado demasiado para condenar este fenómeno, que desde hace tiempo han denunciado varios sectores, dijo Kompas.
The Guatemalan government keen to be seen to be reacting to recent events has sacked two high level members of the National Civil Police (PNC) Javier Figueroa, (subdirector de Operaciones), and Víctor Soto, (jefe de la División de Investigación Criminal (Dinc)). Siglo XXI has more. Erwin Sperisen and Carlos Vielman are feeling the heat:
El director de la PNC, Erwin Sperisen, fue quien promovió en el cargo a Figueroa; incluso, el jueves declaró en el Congreso: "Cuenta con todo el apoyo". Ayer, en tono molesto cuando se le preguntó la razón del cambio de decisión, fue tajante al decir: "Eso fue el día de ayer. Hoy, él se retiró. Si se destituye, malo, y si no se destituye, malo… Nosotros estamos tratando de dejar en toda la libertad al MP para que haga las investigaciones que crea convenientes, y que no se crea o se asuma que están protegidos", agregó.
Según Vielmann, el presidente Óscar Berger tiene desde el domingo su renuncia al cargo. "Sin embargo, él ha considerado que me quede", indicó. "Primero tenemos que ir a rendir cuentas al Congreso. Yo no evalúo renunciar en tanto no pase la interpelación. Vamos a asistir, porque soy una persona acostumbrada a rendir cuentas; no me escondo en función de las crisis, porque no tenemos nada que ocultar", aseguró.
Update 06-03-07
"Cuando uno ve la situación que pasa Guatemala, se da cuenta cómo ha avanzado El Salvador", manifestó Saca. More in Siglo XXI...
Comments and Analysis
This is an article from SERPAL by Carlos Iaquinandi Castro via Albedrio that pieces together the recent events: "Guatemala-El Salvador: gobiernos, mafias y narcotraficantes se reparten la herencia de la impunidad"
Again Albedrio has an interesting article by Louisa Reynolds y Luis Solano written in Inforpress that provides analysis on what these events tell us about parallel and clandestine powers in Guatemala.
GUATEMALA Leonardo Ramírez (m), President of the New San José las Lágrimas Association (Asociación Nueva San José las Lágrimas) and member of the Committee of Peasant Unity (Comité de Unidad Campesina – CUC) Other members of the New San José las Lágrimas Association.
Killed: Vicente Ramírez López (m), member of the New San José las Lágrimas Association and the CUC.
Peasants' rights activist Leonardo Ramírez, who has been working on behalf of peasant farmers threatened with eviction, has been told of a plot to kill him. Another activist, Vicente Ramírez López, was killed on 13 February. Leonardo Ramírez is in grave danger.
Leonardo Ramírez is the President of the New San José las Lágrimas Association, an organization set up by rural workers who have been living on the land of the San José las Lágrimas farm, in Esquipulas, Chiqimula Department. The community of around 125 families occupied the land on 29 June 2006, protesting that the government had failed to give a clear decision on who had the rights to the tenancy of the farm, despite several years of legal proceedings. The army are occupying another part of the farm, where there is allegedly a mass grave of people killed by the armed forces during the internal armed conflict (1960-1996).
Vicente Ramírez López and four other members of the Association were attacked on the farm by four armed men on 13 February. The four men reportedly fired at them, killing Vicente Ramírez. The rural workers managed to catch two of the gunmen, who claimed the army had sent them, and handed them over to the police. The two men were later imprisoned, but have reportedly since been freed.
Four days earlier, on 9 February, several armed men had reportedly arrived at Leonardo Ramírez's house on the San José las Lágrimas farm. One went into the house to ask Leonardo's wife where he was, while the others apparently remained hidden in bushes 500 metres away.
On 19 February, an acquaintance of Leonardo Ramírez from another community reportedly told him that he should be careful, as he had heard that there were people tracking him who could kill him.
On 24 February a relative of his who was working in a field was approached by a man who asked where Leonardo Ramírez lived. The relative said he did not know, and the man (known locally as someone with links to the army) reportedly told him that anyone who killed Leonardo Ramírez would receive 500 quetzales (US$65) for Ramírez's head.
The rural workers' right to occupy the farmland is hotly disputed by the purported landowner. On 15 February the army and police gathered outside the farm to evict them, and were only prevented at the last minute when the rural workers obtained a court order. Legal proceedings are continuing, and an eviction could take place over the next months.
On 6 January three houses in the hamlet of El Chapulín, belonging to members of the New San José las Lágrimas Association, were burnt down. The houses, which are several hours' walk from the San José las Lágrimas farm, were empty at the time.
Other Association members have been killed in the past few months. On 14 December Matías Hernández, a member of the Association's Executive Board, was shot dead as he worked in his field.
Other associations of peasant farmers have also been targeted recently. On 6 February Israel Carías Ortiz, a peasant farmer living in the community of Los Achiotes, in the neighbouring Department of Zacapa, was shot dead with his two children, aged nine and 10. He had been involved in an attempt to recover land which allegedly belonged to the State but had been taken over by local landowners.
"Caminando hacia la Convergencia por la Unidad, Dignidad y Derechos del Pueblo Maya". It's the 3rd Continental Summit of 'Pueblos y Nacionalidades Indígenas de ABYA YALA (Latin America)' in Iximulew, Guatemala from 26-30 March 2007. There's a website that's live now and will be covering the event. On 8th Feb there was a special press conference to publicise the summit and its aims and objectives.
"El objetivo de la Cumbre es: contribuir al reconocimiento y ejercicio de los derechos de los pueblos indígenas de Abya Yala, así como la visibilización de las demandas de las organizaciones hermanas del continente, contribuyendo a la refundación de los Estados, a nivel nacional y continental, para que los pueblos indígenas tengan un poder real."
There is a definite sense that the indigenous peoples across Latin America are making very definite strides towards reclaiming real power- and Evo Morales's presence as Bolivian President will be a hugely significant event- particularly as it will come in the wake of George Bush's visit to Guatemala. Evo Morales visited Guatemala last year in September 2006.
Background
There's a central question behind this summit about the changing nature of political power in Latin America towards a situation that's potential much more favourable to indigenous peoples. Here's some related further reading:
It's interesting considering this article published in Nicaraguan online magazine Envio: could the "Evo" phenomenon happen any time soon in Guatemala, another country with a majority indigenous population?
Are we at some kind of irrevocable change in US-Latin America relations? Here's economist Mark Weisbrot's view from the Centre for Economic and Policy Research via Justin Delacour's Latin America News Review.
UK blogger Nick Buxton, based in Bolivia, has just written an interesting article on how the Bolivian example should be making us in the UK rethink democracy.
Here's recent news via Casa Alianza UK from the All Party Parliamentary Group on Street Children:
Mr Edmundo Urrutia, the Guatemalan Ambassador to the UK, made a presentation on Street Children to the APPG on Street Children on 21st February. MP's attended the meeting from the main political parties in both the House of Commons and House of Lords and representatives from Casa Alianza, Amnesty International, the Railway Children, the Consortium for Street Children, Jubilee Action, UNICEF and Toybox also were also present...
The Ambassador outlined the Guatemalan legal framework for children and the existing Government structures responsible for street children. He said that street children are a high priority and an important issue close to the President. Recent initiatives to assist street children have included:
* Studies by six Mayors in different areas of the country into social trends. * The formation of a forum on street children with the Government and a number of NGOs to develop a strategic plan. Funding assistance and support is from the British Government via the Global Opportunities Fund for Police training via the Consortium for Street Children. However it was acknowledged that the forum relied heavily on NGO's and had insufficient resources to be effective.
The Ambassador finished by saying that the issue of street children is complex, the State was weak and there are a lack of resources to implement the law including insufficient National Police and called for improved coordination between the Government and NGO's.
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